Jerry Lee Lewis - 25 All Time Greatest Sun Recordings

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Free Music Notes for 25 All Time Greatest Sun Recordings

Free Music Review: Seminal Rock 'n' Roll Recordings
Hit: 5 Stars

On the other hand, what Varese's included here is the Real Stuff: pristinely transferred original singles recordings. The 25 tracks include all of Lewis major chart hits (both pop and country) during his six-year tenure at Sun. All of the best-known early titles (and those most overplayed by Oldies radio) are here, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," "Great Balls of Fire" (which, amazingly, makes an entire band out of only a piano and a guitar), "Breathless," and "High School Confidential." Non-charting B-sides such as his cover of Roy Orbison's "Down the Line," and previously unissued rarities like "Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee" show that The Killer had more good material than radio and the public were able to soak up at the time. Throughout the recordings, the support from guitarist Roland Janes is stellar, and drummer J.M. Van Eaton mostly keeps pace with Lewis' manic performances.

The wealth and breadth of material that Lewis recorded for Sun couldn't possibly be represented in only 25 tracks, and Varese clearly knows this. They've chosen to focus on Lewis' seminal contributions to the birth of rock 'n' roll, seasoned with a few ballad, pop novelties and country tunes. It's a common musical characterization of Lewis, and though perhaps not fully revealing of his talent, what's here is sure to please most listeners. As a single-disc summary of Lewis' Sun years, this is as good as any and better than many. For the whole story, save your pennies and buy Bear Family's comprehensive 8-disc box set.

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